Cricketer Umesh Yadav at a practice session.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Ahmedabad: Having endured their toughest season yet in the Indian Premier League, the 2022 edition winners and last year's runners-up Gujarat Titans are hoping for a miracle to make the playoffs this year, pacer Umesh Yadav said on Sunday.
The Shubman Gill-led side is languishing in the bottom half of the table with 10 points in 12 matches, needing to win their remaining two matches of the league stage and hoping for other results to go their way.
Last Friday, Gujarat ended their three-match losing streak when they trumped Chennai Super Kings by 35 runs at home, a game in which skipper Gill and opening batter B Sai Sudharsan hit tons.
"Definitely, there are a lot of possibilities," Yadav told the media here at the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, who have already qualified for the playoffs.
"The plan is to play our game and try and win both the (remaining) games. If we try to win by a good margin... even Gill says he has seen miracles happening with this team. We are trying our best," Yadav added.
"If there are any ups and downs for the top-placed teams and we get to 14 points then... Everyone wants to be there (in the playoffs)," Yadav claimed. He said the franchise's impressive record in its first couple of season has kept the players motivated.
"In the last two years, we won one final and were the runner-up in the other, so we are trying to grab our chances," he added.
The senior India pacer said attacking Sunil Narine's stumps would be the key to stop the free-flowing KKR opener, who has consistently provided strong starts to his side.
"He was not opening for KKR when I was there at the franchise for two years. However, he is back as an opener this year. But you must have also seen his dismissal in the last match where in he was bowled (by Jasprit Bumrah). We will try to hit the deck, attack the stumps and swing the ball — that would give the best chance to dismiss him since he is being sent to make quick runs and he has been able to do that," he said.
The 36-year-old pacer joined the bandwagon to say that impact player rule has made the job tougher for bowlers.
"The job is getting increasingly difficult for fast bowlers since the impact player rule has come. The top and the middle-order is not afraid of the consequences if they get out early since you have batting till Nos 8 or 9," he said.
"The way the batters are going, dealing in sixes mostly, it's just range hitting that is prevalent now so as a bowler you have to be brave to think of taking wickets," he added.